Graffiti 61 - "Time Warp"
(self-released 2006)
Graffiti 61 - "Time Warp"
(self-released 2006)
From Aural Innovations #33 (March 2006)
Graffiti 61 is the work of California based cosmonaut Dominic Massaro. Time Warp is his fifth and latest album, and features 10 tracks of his psychedeliciously mind-bending space journeys. With one exception the tracks are all in the 3-6 minute range, which is unusual for this type of music. But each track builds upon the previous one, utilizing electronics and guitar to create DEEP space soundtracks and alien orchestral soundscapes for body, mind and soul. The album is chock full of combinations of ambient drift, pulsating waves and enough freaky sounds to add color and character to the dreamy space themes.
Among the highlight tracks is "Brain Wash", which plays exactly as the title would suggest, and brings together elements of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze on the one hand and Ash Ra Tempel guitar and electronic stylings on the other. "Electrical Disturbance" consists of quiet ambience, freaky loops and a variety of bubbling and soaring electronics, that make for a drifting ride through the Milky Way among the stars while passing an endless stream of space junk. I love the deep space, somewhat Mellotron sounding keyboard lines on "Warm Soul". The title track features an excellent combination of meteor shower intensity, engine room rumbling and drones, and cascading space waves. And the 13 minute "Time Lapse Photography" is like a magic carpet ride space symphony, featuring some of the most enchanting and peaceful music of the set. Man, I just closed my eyes and floated away with this one. And that cool cosmic guitar really adds a kick to the space-ambient brain massage.
In summary, this is true travel to the stars music. Massaro does a great job of painting space-ambient landscapes, but also incorporating enough sundry sounds and efx to keep things continually interesting. Beautiful psychedelic space-ambience. Climb aboard…
For more information you can visit the Graffiti 61 web site at: http://www.graffiti61.com.
Hear music samples at the Graffiti 61 myspace.com site at: http://www.myspace.com/graffiti61music.
Email at: dominic@graffiti61.com.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz